#157218 - 12/19/05 09:39 AM
How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Polishing Rims This is a project that takes time and patience. You will be wet sanding and it makes a mess and your finger nails will be black for a while, the ladies will be impressed. The important thing is to sand long enough with each grit to remove the scratches from the previous grit. If you rush through the grits, you will end up sanding much longer with a finer grit to remove scratches from early grits.
Here's what you need: -A variety of sand paper, I had 180 grit 240 grit 320 grit 400 grit 600 grit 1000 grit 1200 grit 1500 grit 2000 grit - Mother's Wheel polish - Blue Magic Wheel Polish - any automotive carnuba type paste wax in a can


 Here is of lightweight rims from a civic hx. As you can see they are badly corroded. They are painted silver from the factory, but had already had most of the paint stripped before I bought the car.

 I began with 180 grit on these because there was so much corrosion to sand through. I sanded so much that I probably made them even lighter lol, yet still could not get through all the corrosion on the lips. You could start with 240 on a cleaner set of rims. You want to sand all the lines out of the factory machined surface.

 Some pics after sanding with 400 grit

 After 600 grit

 After 1000 grit
 Be sure to clean the inside of the rims as well so you can have the stick on weights put there rather than on the outside of the rim you just polished. I just used 180 grit to get the dirt off.


 On the first wheel, between 1000 and 1200 grit, I masked off all the inset areas between the spokes to be painted. I did this before the 1200, 1500 and 2000 so that the rough edges from the masking tape would be sanded smooth as I finished the surface.




 I sprayed them with Duplicolor Wheel Coating, Graphite



 These are after sanding with 1500 grit. The rim in the background is 180 grit to show how far it has progressed.



 after 2000 grit... almost done!!

 Mothers wheel polish is good stuff, I have been using it for almost 10 yrs. Just dab some on a terry cloth you dont use for anything nice (it turns black) and rub it on a section of the rim for about 30 seconds. Let it haze over for a minute after wiping and wipe the haze off with a clean cloth.
 Done! (with that little area)
 Spoke before Mothers
 Spoke after Mothers

 Half polished
 Complete!

 Compared to the 180 grit rim

 Now I have 3 more to do 
Also not yet pictured, I find that waxing them with a wheel polish called Blue Magic will make them a little bit brighter. Mothers is an abrasive, but the Blue Magic is much finer. It removes what is left of the black oxidation from the Mothers.
Finally wax them with a coat of regular carnuba paste wax. This will act like a seal on the surface and keep them looking good after a rainstorm. On the inside, wax but do not wipe it off after it hazes. This will make it much easier to keep the insides of the rims clean in the future. They aren't clear coated, but I hope you wouldn't even think about using them in the winter anyways!
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#157219 - 12/19/05 10:57 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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2000CivicStud
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 02/10/03
Posts: 32043
Loc: Cincinnati, OH
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Wow. That looks wicked dude. Great write up!
-matt
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#157221 - 12/19/05 11:09 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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Civic4drNWV
Sr Member
Registered: 04/02/03
Posts: 1179
Loc: WV and Daytona Beach, FL
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Sweet write-up! Those look really, really good. I'm sure it took a lot of hard work to get them look so good. Now take 20 minutes and clean your freakin' shower.
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#157222 - 12/19/05 11:15 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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yeah you dont want to do this in your bathroom like I did, the wet sanding makes a huge mess. gonna have to scrub the hell out of the shower lol
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#157224 - 12/19/05 10:32 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Quote:
thanks for the write up i am going to have to do this to my stock si wheels
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#157225 - 12/19/05 10:59 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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bleh¤
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 06/17/03
Posts: 23794
Loc: Canadia
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Nice! I'm debating if I should do my Si rims this spring. Does anyone have a pic of them on a car? Preferably a 96-00 Civic?
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#157231 - 01/20/06 06:02 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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im gonna guess about 8 hrs, I did the worst rim first so there was lots of extra sanding needed, I just started on the second one this week and took a break... I gotta get the car finished before I worry about bling!
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#157232 - 01/20/06 06:12 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Quote:
Brian, you frequently give me a boner. true story.
wait till you see what is going in... viagra for you
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#157236 - 02/10/06 04:56 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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Trixiem
Post Master Sr
Registered: 03/10/03
Posts: 3031
Loc: Las Vegas, Nv
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sweet write up.
i did mine in white after i polished them, cause the idiot put a weight on the lip when i specifically told him to put it inside.
-kenny
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#157237 - 02/11/06 12:39 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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RyCeRoCkEtZ
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/26/03
Posts: 5553
Loc: NorCal, FrisCo, Bay Area!
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looks like i'mma get another set of R wheels and polish them
_________________________
'00 EBP EM1 Si (K inspired) - Present, soon to be gone... '05 TYB YZF R6 - sold 09-19-2007, you will be missed.. '08 TYB YZF R6 - 02-12-08 fAsT cAr aRe fOr dRaG rAcInG fAsT dRiVeR aRe foR aUtOcRoSs
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#157239 - 02/16/06 11:33 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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EkVtec
Jr Poster
Registered: 07/21/05
Posts: 103
Loc: California
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good write up seen this on h-t
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#157240 - 02/22/06 12:36 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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btune eddie
Newbie
Registered: 02/21/06
Posts: 13
Loc: CA, USA
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CLEEAAAAAAAAAAAN JOB CLEAN JOB OMG CLEAN JOB
_________________________
Eddie
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#157241 - 02/23/06 08:50 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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tmitbyh
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 03/11/02
Posts: 23509
Loc: Pearl City, Hawaii
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That is dedication.
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#157243 - 03/02/06 04:09 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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RyCeRoCkEtZ
Post Master Sr
Registered: 10/26/03
Posts: 5553
Loc: NorCal, FrisCo, Bay Area!
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Quote:
Quote:
That is dedication.
agree.
this ish takes forever.
ditto
_________________________
'00 EBP EM1 Si (K inspired) - Present, soon to be gone... '05 TYB YZF R6 - sold 09-19-2007, you will be missed.. '08 TYB YZF R6 - 02-12-08 fAsT cAr aRe fOr dRaG rAcInG fAsT dRiVeR aRe foR aUtOcRoSs
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#157248 - 03/13/06 05:19 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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2000CivicStud
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 02/10/03
Posts: 32043
Loc: Cincinnati, OH
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Still use wax, itll just make it easier to clean them.
-matt
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#157250 - 03/14/06 08:43 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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2000CivicStud
Post Master Supreme
Registered: 02/10/03
Posts: 32043
Loc: Cincinnati, OH
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#157251 - 03/29/06 11:36 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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209_dup2
Poster
Registered: 10/04/05
Posts: 340
Loc: Tracy, CA
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#157252 - 04/18/06 08:49 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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I didn't clear coat because I'm not sure how well the aerosol would bite on the polished surface. I think that when you go from the 2000 grit to the mothers, you're really smoothing the surface that the paint has to stick to. Maybe powdercoating them in clear would adhere better, but for the $$ I'll just not use these in winter and shine them up by hand once in a while. 3 are complete so far, the 4th one just finished the 2000 grit stage. I will never polish another set of HX rims
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#157254 - 04/20/06 09:08 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Quote:
sweet write up.
i did mine in white after i polished them, cause the idiot put a weight on the lip when i specifically told him to put it inside.
Those look good! like mini-Type R's got any pics of them on your civic?
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#157255 - 05/02/06 01:41 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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NY-Si
Newbie
Registered: 03/11/06
Posts: 27
Loc: NY
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what would u use for a clear coat?
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#157256 - 05/08/06 09:49 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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Stryker124
Major Member
Registered: 10/22/00
Posts: 1281
Loc: Mentor, Ohio USA
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#157258 - 05/09/06 08:54 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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NICE JOB man... that looks great!!! Looks like you used Duplicolor Graphite wheel paint for the inset parts of the spokes? can't wait to see how they look on your Si,, 3 more to go!
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#157259 - 05/09/06 10:18 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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Stryker124
Major Member
Registered: 10/22/00
Posts: 1281
Loc: Mentor, Ohio USA
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Thanks, and yes, I followed your example and used the Duplicolor Graphite wheel paint. That stuff is really nice to work with.
_________________________
2010 Mazdaspeed3 "Please, please let the warranty expire soon...I needs a downpipe and some ECU work..."
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#157260 - 05/30/06 01:08 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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Katharine McPhee
Newbie
Registered: 05/26/06
Posts: 12
Loc: Boston Area
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Wow, what a difference. I just got done polishing my hytech header... I think I am enough confidence to try this on my CP-035s. I've been having problems selling these, so I might as well have a polished set... it'll be the only 16" CP-O35Rs that I know of.
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#157261 - 06/01/06 03:32 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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dd2000si
Jr Poster
Registered: 05/31/05
Posts: 92
Loc: Vaughan
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WOW, props for the write up and the hard dedicated work put in to those rims, excellent job!
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#157264 - 09/06/06 12:11 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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pacey
Newbie
Registered: 06/09/06
Posts: 52
Loc: CA, USA
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You did a good job man!! I'm thinkin about doin it to mah gsr rims..
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#157265 - 09/08/06 01:02 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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pacey
Newbie
Registered: 06/09/06
Posts: 52
Loc: CA, USA
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Btw, what if i dont want it that shiny.. i want to make it like OEM? what should i do? can anyone help me? thank you!
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#157267 - 12/22/06 09:19 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Quote:
Btw, what if i dont want it that shiny.. i want to make it like OEM? what should i do? can anyone help me? thank you!
If you don't want the bling factor, then stop after you wetsand with 2000 grit and don't do the mother's polish.
after 2000 grit:
(close rim is 2000, back one is 240)
edit: here is side by side of 2000 grit and 2000 grit after mother's polish. The rim would still look great if you didn't use the mothers and left it at 2000:
Edited by teal_dx (12/22/06 09:24 AM)
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#157268 - 12/22/06 09:22 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Quote:
Has anyone polished any ls wheels? I take it that it would be the same but the inside of the spokes are really rough. Do i just sand them aswell?
I would just work on polishing the face and paint the sides of the spokes where it has the rough cast surface. otherwise you will be sanding and polishing for a looooong time if you do the sides of the spokes too. I like to paint the sides of the spokes with the Duplicolor Graphite, it gives the rims an OEM look.
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#157269 - 12/22/06 09:48 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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here's some more pics of polished rims!
cl rims = hawt RZR's
Si's only slightly polished  HX's only slightly polished
RSX, these must have been a bitch, all curved surfaces!
Teg Blades
CRX Si's
LS Meshies
slipstream
some optional Honda wheel
fat 5
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#157271 - 12/22/06 07:15 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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for 8 million dollars. I'm never doing that shit again  Actually I have some Fat 5's I'm thinking about polishing or painting black. Most rims are going to be way easier than the HX's I did because of all the curved spokes and the lip. Those RSX rims above were probably just as hard as the HX's but fat 5's, Si's, crx Si's and most other Honda alloys have the flat face which makes life easier when polishing
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#157273 - 12/23/06 07:43 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
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hkt03
Post Master Sr
Registered: 12/15/04
Posts: 3560
Loc: Chicago, IL
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#899904 - 01/11/07 12:27 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: Napoleon3]
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Stryker124
Major Member
Registered: 10/22/00
Posts: 1281
Loc: Mentor, Ohio USA
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Have any of you had your wheels sand blasted before you polished them?
I didn't but that would help take the clearcoat off, which would save a little sanding time, and it might help take down some of the factory machining which would help as well.
_________________________
2010 Mazdaspeed3 "Please, please let the warranty expire soon...I needs a downpipe and some ECU work..."
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#992898 - 02/01/07 10:22 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: PurduinaSi]
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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just polishing the lip would be easy. The lip is the easiest part to do by hand because it is a uniform surface. It would take 2 mins for each grit of sand paper to do just the lip of a rim. a sander is only going to help on a flat surface, so you could use it on the very outer edge if it is flat like OEM rims are. But by the time you install the paper on the sander, you could have probably sanded it with a block by hand. any pics of the rims?
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#1136444 - 03/08/07 06:14 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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BrianGriffin
Newbie
Registered: 03/08/07
Posts: 23
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That looks awesome! Good Job!
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#1160948 - 03/15/07 09:03 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: 99 SI AutoXer]
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B16BSTD
Newbie
Registered: 01/31/07
Posts: 37
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I heard somewhere on the net that if you put the front end of your car on jackstands and start the car and put it in gear then you can easily polish the lip of the wheel. I tried it and it worked great.
I went from this:


To this:

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#1162761 - 03/16/07 01:14 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: jellydoughnutt]
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Duplicolor also makes a Clear wheel paint
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#1170741 - 03/19/07 03:40 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: jellydoughnutt]
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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yeah check Autozone, Pep Boys, Walmart, I think Advance Auto carries Duplicolor too.
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#1513524 - 06/06/07 12:54 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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CivDog97
Jr Member
Registered: 01/13/01
Posts: 396
Loc: Chi-town Burb.
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Was there a certain way you sanded to get a better result? Did you sand against the machining grain or with it? Circular motion while sanding or just a back and forth motion? BTW it looks good what you did with some of those rims, it's like night and day. Nice job!
Edited by CivDog97 (06/06/07 11:50 PM)
_________________________
"Oh Yeah, Well I'm A Mushroom Cloud Laying Muthafucka, Muthafucka"-Pulp Fiction.
00 FBP Civic Si
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#1516861 - 06/06/07 11:57 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: jellydoughnutt]
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CivDog97
Jr Member
Registered: 01/13/01
Posts: 396
Loc: Chi-town Burb.
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I was talking about on the polishing. Dude, did you read this whole topic? I remember that it was said not to try and sand the unfinished casted parts in between the spokes of the wheel because you'd be sanding forever. I do understand the scuffing to have the paint adhere better but what I was referring to was on the polishing sections and to what method/technique was used for the better results. I was hoping for Teal DX to respond.
Edited by CivDog97 (06/06/07 11:58 PM)
_________________________
"Oh Yeah, Well I'm A Mushroom Cloud Laying Muthafucka, Muthafucka"-Pulp Fiction.
00 FBP Civic Si
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#1583665 - 06/26/07 08:05 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: jellydoughnutt]
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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it doesn't matter, just be sure to sand long enough so that you sand through all the deeper scratches from the previous grit paper. I usually sanded with the contour of the rim, seemed easiest.
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#1594958 - 06/29/07 09:00 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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2skys1imit3
Newbie
Registered: 06/24/07
Posts: 52
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great job on the rims but polish always looks too close to chrome
either way, good stuff
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#1603481 - 07/03/07 01:48 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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Asif22
Newbie
Registered: 07/01/07
Posts: 40
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This was really helpful.Thanks!
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#2627689 - 05/10/08 09:20 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: Asif22]
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si slam
Newbie
Registered: 03/26/08
Posts: 12
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Yo, teal dx, thanks for the idea. Instead of dropping a load on another set of rims, I've been doing this to my tuner mesh icws. I've finished two so far. I spent 5 hours apiece on them. I'm very pleased.
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#3098793 - 10/09/08 11:34 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: blueSIguy]
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conv2vtec
Newbie
Registered: 03/22/07
Posts: 8
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i was looking at refinishing/polishing the lips of my 5zigen FN01R-C rims...they were refinished before i bought them and the clear coat is coming off the lips...so i am planning to redo the lips only and not the rest of the rim as i like the colour...should i tape off the rim before i sand down the lip? and i take it that when you start wet sanding at 1200 grit that you also wet sand the painted section of the rim? in the process that I am doing should i then take the tape off the rim and start wetsanding the lip along with the very end of the spokes to take away and bumps and uneveness from paint to lip?
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#3263074 - 12/03/08 01:34 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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ZIGZAG
Newbie
Registered: 02/20/07
Posts: 62
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awsome!!!
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#3834319 - 06/19/09 12:04 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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bb2prelude
Newbie
Registered: 12/17/07
Posts: 8
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damn.. that looks really nice. nice work
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#4808203 - 06/09/10 09:41 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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MiniMonsters
Newbie
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 12
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Wow. I've been trying to figure out how to clean my rims properly for a while. Thanks for the tips. They look great!
_________________________
Go ahead push my "why?" button. I dare you. http://whyagent.com FYI, I'm helping spread this link around for State Farm
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#4812053 - 06/10/10 02:43 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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MiniMonsters
Newbie
Registered: 09/08/09
Posts: 12
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Thanks for the tips!
_________________________
Go ahead push my "why?" button. I dare you. http://whyagent.com FYI, I'm helping spread this link around for State Farm
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#5341075 - 01/30/11 04:59 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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GaVic
Newbie
Registered: 01/16/11
Posts: 14
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Super good job. Makes me wanna buy an old set of wheels just to try my hand at it.
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#5925911 - 11/12/11 08:41 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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ommnag
Newbie
Registered: 11/12/11
Posts: 2
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nice steps you done to polish the rims. Rims for car are like shoes wear with suit and should be keep shiny and clean all times.
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#6218644 - 03/19/12 06:23 AM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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jacobwill1988
Newbie
Registered: 03/19/12
Posts: 10
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That’s the best usable thing I am reading here, my car always have this rim problem sometimes it stop wheeling. I will use your method for cleaning this up.
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#6355738 - 05/21/12 10:32 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: B16BSTD]
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Carfantasy
Newbie
Registered: 05/03/12
Posts: 5
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I like the pics of polished rims! Nice pics!
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#6406415 - 06/15/12 10:12 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: Carfantasy]
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teal_dx
Post Master
Registered: 09/12/02
Posts: 2305
Loc: Ohio
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Just stumbled upon this old tutorial... I still have the HX wheels:
Car is going to be for sale soon and I won't have a 4x100 honda anymore... it's going to be hard to part with these wheels (and all the others I've collected for this car)
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#7051889 - 05/05/13 07:52 PM
Re: How to Polish your Rims
[Re: teal_dx]
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Stacey J
Newbie
Registered: 03/13/13
Posts: 5
Loc: US
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Looks great. I should have a try someday.
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